Following a Coordinator's Footsteps
by Rennie123
Summary: Follow Happy as she travels through the Hoenn region, building a team of Pokemon, making new friends, and trying to achieve her dream of one day becoming Top Coordinator!
1. O' Bright New Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

Chapter 1: O' Bright New Day

Happy sprang up from her bed that morning, rushing to the wardrobe. She had picked out some new clothing specially; a cute pink and white skirt, with two loose pocket, which ran just above the knee, a plain white vest-top, and an orange waistcoat. She topped it of with her brand new slip-on shoes, which had various coloured patches around them. Happy admired herself in the large mirror that was inside the door of her light, wooden wardrobe, pulling the navy-blue scrunchy from her curly red hair, and shaking it loose. She twirled, and tied the waistcoat at her chest in a neat bow, before kneeling on her bright pink bed sheets, which were in a heap on the bed itself, and peeling from the wall a picture of her favourite coordinator, Solidad, folding it neatly and placing it in her skirt pocket . Nothing could ruin today for her. You see, today was the day that she would be receiving her very first Pokemon!

Happy ran downstairs, snatching hold of her over-the-shoulder, orange, zip-fastened bag as she went. Julie was waiting for her at the dining room table, gazing nervously at her short dark-brown hair in a small, blue, compact mirror, and correcting some smudged, golden eye-shadow.

"Happy!" Julie stood up to greet her daughter. "Come over here and sit down". The girl stared blankly at the panicked woman, before rolling her emerald eyes and moving further forwards to sourly greet her.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Mum. You're not actually worried are you? I can handle it. The open doors, it's nothing for me. My friends all left at ten years old remember? Ten! They have now had a five year start on me, thanks to you. Hoenn might be a big place, but you're wrong to think I can't deal with it. You can't cling to me forever, it isn't fair. Well, forget it. I'm leaving today whether you like it or not! And..." Happy ranted on before being interrupted by her red-faced mother.

"Oh, I know the deal," Julie said while struggling to thread a thin, black ribbon as best she could through her short, think hair, "But I'm not being unreasonable - you are still a child after all. You will thank me one day, you know. However," she continued, "You're father and I have had a good chat, and we are prepared to let you go. But, I am warning you...". Happy was used to this kind of attitude from her parent, and knew exactly which buttons to press.

"Calm down," Happy assured her mother, softening her tone, "I'll be fine. And, yes, I will come home once and a while, just don't expect me to be on the phone every thirty seconds".

"Right. Just remember I'm here, ok?" Julie gave up, and Happy nodded, triumphantly.

"I'd better be going - our little chat has pushed me behind schedule". Happy turned to the door, but was stopped by her mother's words.

"Oh no you don't! You are not leaving until you've at least eaten something. We still have some of those toasted pancakes left - you can go when you've had a couple of those". Happy reluctantly agreed, sitting down to eat, shoving what was handed to her into her mouth, before rising and bounding though the door.

"And, for goodness sake, make sure Dad doesn't follow me!" Happy shouted back to Julie, who was standing at the doorway to her house, as she walked down the street - remembering the time that her father, Robert, really had followed her home from school to make sure she wasn't hurt by a group of boys who had threatened her earlier. Julie smiled, holding back tears. "I'll be back one day" Happy finished, turning away from her mother and her home, and looking to the future.

Professor Birch's laboratory should have only been a fifteen minute walk, but it was mid-day before Happy arrived at the scene, equipped with a large, rolled-up map, which she dropped into the paper bin. Whose idea was it to give Happy a map, knowing her awful sense of direction? Her father's, no doubt. She laughed, routing through her bag to see what other things her parents had deemed necessary: a compass, a bus timetable, and a pair of yellow and black slippers were just a few of them.

Birch was standing at the door of the great building that was his lab, greeting Happy with a toothy grin, and a handshake that made her knuckles ache. He was a tall, plump man, with shaggy chocolate hair and matching eyes. Wearing a long, pearly white lab-coat, and transparent plastic gloves, he led Happy into the building. Everything looked even larger from the inside, and the lighting was incredibly bright, causing her to blink madly, waiting for her eyes to adjust. After striding through endless corridors, and steep flights of stairs, the two eventually reached Birch's 'Beginner Trainers' room, where he kept all the Pokemon that he would be offering to those trainers who would start their journey in the Hoenn region.

Birch began by giving Happy an interview. Pokemon weren't all about contests and battling, they were real living things that were to be treated with respect, and compassion, but he was sure that Happy was capable of offering plenty of that.

"Yeah, right" Happy whispered quietly under her breath. Birch pressed a small red button, which prompted three polished Pokeballs to appear on his desk. They were red on the top half, and white on the bottom, with a button in the centre which would be used to compress the equipment, to make carrying easier.

"These are the Pokemon that I will be offering you today. Make your choice wisely and carefully - the Pokemon that you choose will be your main partner throughout your whole career, so you can't afford to mess this up, okay?" Birch told the young girl, who nodded, confidently.

Just as Birch picked the first of the three Pokeballs up, and prepared to release the creature that lay resting inside, one of his assistants skidded into the room. He wore similar attire to Birch, except his jeans were visible through the coat - making the uniform scruffy. He had a light, thin tuft of caramel-coloured hair, and sea-blue eyes. His head was shaped like a rugby ball, and he was skinny, and taller then Birch.

"It's terrible!" the assistant cried, waving his hands around in panic, "Absolutely awful".

"Calm yourself, Joe, what's up?" Birch said, turning to his friend and worker.

"The farm, the one just down the road, the farmer there is trying to slaughter a bunch of Mareep - says that they were born with too little strength. Too weak to produce enough static on their wool to help run the power, he tells us. We said he should release 'em, but he was having none of it, doesn't want any of them breeding with any of his other Mareep - says it will spread the problem along, and he won't keep 'em because he says he can't afford to" Joe's words fell out in rags as he tried to explain the situation as well as he could in his panic.

"Calm down," Birch said once more, "take me to him - I will see what I can do. Happy," he continued, "you stay here and wait for me to get back, I shouldn't be too long".

Birch was out of the door and up the corridor in a flash, Joe, a few steps ahead.

"Hmph," Happy moaned to herself, "I'm supposed to starting the adventure of a lifetime today, not hanging around indoors; I'm supposed to be out there". Happy spiralled round to point towards the open window, "I will be out there" she whispered, smiling, before bounding towards the rooms door. Locked. The back door? Locked, also. There was still a final option. Happy thought for a second, before grinning widely, and walking towards the window, gently pushing it forward, testing how far it would open. Enough. She stood on Birch's chair, before slowly lifting herself through the open space. She got through, but toppling head-first onto the stone floor had not been her idea of a graceful landing. Smiling to herself, she realised that her bad coordination and clumsiness hadn't risen with her ambition. Oh well.

Pulling herself to her feet, and momentarily rubbing the back of her neck (which had taken the weight of her harsh landing), she began to focus, running down the road, a determined, strong, zealous attitude sweeping over her. She felt as if the whole world could collapse at her feet any second, as if... wait a second, where was she going? Ugh... she knew she shouldn't have been so rash - it was totally out of character.

"Right," she said to herself, "that Joe guy said that the farm was just down the road - so I should head... just down the road!" she grinned, turning to the stone-paved road. Except, there was two 'down the roads', so which way...hmm. She decided to wander right for a while, to see if she found anything that way, and if not, she would turn back. She grinned again, and marched up the steep route that was to her right.

"For goodness sake, I should have gone left!" Happy told herself, stopping after walking for just five minutes up the road, "At least that way was down-hill" she slapped her forehead gently, and began to turn back, when she heard the sound of some shouting, coming from nearby. She followed the cries, running as best she could despite being tired from the short walk, arriving at a scene of Joe and Birch arguing with another man. He was a tall, skinny bloke, with blond hair, and bushy caramel eyebrows. He was wearing a large, warming, think red overcoat, and some old blue jeans, which were tucked tightly into his lilac Wellington boots.

"Honestly, if the world was cleared of people like you, it would be a much happier place" Joe told the farmer, trying to stay composed, but clearly struggling in the heat of the moment.

Happy wandered further into the clearing, but still remained unnoticed. As she looked to her side, she saw a bunch of five or six Mareep, clueless - falling around each other - all varying in size, the largest about two and a half foot wide, and the smallest, about a one and a half. The Mareep all bore a similar resemblance, creamy clouded wool embracing most of their bodies, except a dark-blue head, four small legs of the same colour, and the ears like cones sticking out from either side of the head - striped yellow and black. The tail had the same pattern as the ears, with an orange sphere resting at the tip.

"Look, they're mine to do as I please with. If I let them go, all that will happen is that they'll reproduce with my flock, and then, eventually, all my offspring will be like them, too weak to pay their way with the less electrical charge on their bodies. If I kill them, at least I can skin 'em and get a little money out of them, and they won't be a problem for me in the future. Stupid Pokemon they are anyway, Mareep - don't see why you care so much".

That was it. Happy's fuse was broken, and she broke right into the clearing, standing before the farmer, her hands on her hips, and eyes glaring at him in her most intimidating manner. The farmers expression told her that the man was quick to realise that Happy really wasn't a girl to mess with - she could never resist a good, old-fashioned argument.

"Those are living things," Happy shouting, trying to keep a straight face, while enjoying the fight while it lasted, "you think that you can just throw life around, well, you can't".

"Stay out of this" the farmer told her, turning back to face Birch and Joe once more.

"Ugh... I can't stand people like you. Acting all tough but turning away from any fight that you don't think you can win. Hmph, I haven't got time for this, just give us the Mareep" Happy spilled a smile, but managed to keep her fierceness intact.

The farmer ignored Happy this time, waiting for whatever else Joe or Birch had to say.

"Look, how about this. Give the Mareep to me, and I will take care of them in a controlled environment - how does that sound?" Birch reasoned with the man, who paused for a moment, before nodding his head in agreement, and turning around - heading away from the tension-flooded scene. Birch sighed in relief, before turning to Happy. "Now that you're here, Happy, could you give Joe a hand in carrying those Mareep back to my lab - I will walk ahead". Happy saw Birch quickly head back down the path, before turning to face the fenced Mareep once more. Joe, somehow, was already there, encouraging the babies to be calm, as he carried three in his arms.

"Happy," he asked, "get those last two for me, would you?" Happy looked down at the two Pokemon with distaste, but she wasn't in a position to argue. She knelt before the small creatures, picking the larger of the two up first, before putting a single hand around the smallest. They were warm, and their wool was soft and clean. She stood up once more, and followed Joe back to the lab, who was already leading the way. Happy was struggling to keep the Mareep still, as they tried to pull themselves from her grasp.

"Stop that!" Happy yelled at the two, "I'm here trying to do a good thing and I just don't get any thanks. Perhaps I should have just left you back at that farm, and I bet you don't know what would have happened then, do you? You wouldn't be alive now, that's for sure" The Mareep looked up at her in understanding. The smallest stopped its struggle, and gave her a look of regret.

"Mareep, epp." The smallest apologised sincerely, but the bigger continued to fidget about, and was scolded by the other for its actions. At this, the larger Mareep opened its mouth and released thin sparks from it, aimed at the smaller, and hitting it directly in the face. "Eeeeep!" it squealed in pain.

"Stop that right now" Happy shouted, cradling the victim in a way that it was out of reach for the others attack. The angered Mareep, however, did not stop its attack, but just looked up at Happy, aiming the attack at her. The sparks flew into her face, they didn't feel painful, just kind of irritating - like static - she continued to walk after Joe, who was a good distance ahead of her now, clearly having problems of his own. She craned her neck as far away from the attack as she could, but it just carried on. The more and more the yellow sparks scratched at her skin, the more the impact did begin to hurt.

"Mareep!" the smaller began to scold the larger once more, still held at a far enough distance to be attacked. "Mareep, eep, eep!" it tried once more and failed, before jumping from Happy's cradled arm, and grabbing hold of the attacker from behind, using its own Spark attack. These sparks were similar to its superior, but smaller, and only a few shot from its mouth, before it was too tired to continue.

The larger Mareep stopped attacking Happy, twisting its neck around in order to give the smaller an amused smirk, before digging its teeth into its neck. "Eeep" it squealed in pain once more.

"I'm really getting sick of this now," Happy tried to discipline the two, "look, your moving and jumping about so much that I can barely keep hold. We're nearly at the lab now, and you will both be still until we get there". Happy squeezed the larger around the neck, forcing it to pull its teeth from the other, before picking it up by the scruff of its neck with her left hand, and dropping her arm to her side, carrying the creature like one would carry a shopping bag. She pulled her right arm back in a manner that forced the smaller Mareep, who was slightly bleeding from the bite, to fall on its back - held by Happy like a baby. The larger creature continued to fidget, but was unable to attack in any manner, while the smaller lay still, looking up at Happy in utter admiration.

Arriving back at the lab, Joe had let the Mareep that he had been carrying into the lab's huge greenhouse - which was built with conditions for any Pokemon that the professor may be studying to live in. Happy walked into the greenhouse, and came up to Joe, carrying her two creatures.

"Just set them down in here," Joe told her, "I'm sure that they will have a great life here. Oh, and thank you for bringing these two back". Happy forced a smile despite having been pushed to her limit on the short walk, unknown to Joe. She placed them both on the ground, the larger running quickly away to join the other three, but the smaller stayed still, looking up at Happy, sweetly. "Aww, that one must be a little shy about its new home, but I'm sure it will be fine. Come on, lets go and see Birch - you should have been and gone with your first Pokemon by now". Happy gladly followed Joe towards the door of the greenhouse, before feeling something brushing against her feet while she walked. She looked down, and Joe followed her gaze, to see the smaller Mareep walking alongside Happy as closely as she could. "C'mon," Joe said, wrapping an arm around the creature, "you'll be fine here, don't be shy", but the Mareep was quick to dig its teeth into Joe's hand, drawing blood. Joe softened his grasp, and the creature jumped from him, and into Happy, who caught the Pokemon by reflex. The creature cooed, holding itself close to Happy, rubbing its head under her neck. "Goodness, she seems awfully fond of you, Happy" Joe told her, "I think it wants to stay with you. Do you?" he asked the Mareep, who cuddled closer to Happy as an answer to his question.

"Well, this is rather an unusual situation" Birch scratched his chin, now comfortably back in his Beginners Trainers room. "There's only really one thing that you can do in these situations. Happy, how do you feel about taking this Mareep as your partner?" Birch chuckled slightly, but waited for Happy's response.

"Erm... I guess." Happy didn't feel like she had the right to refuse, she was being given a Pokemon, after all. She wasn't satisfied - she had hoped for a beautiful, powerful, contest-winning Pokemon, not a simple Mareep - but accepted the offer.

"Good stuff," Joe cheered, handing Happy a small, rectangular, red machine, as well as the six white and red metal balls, "here are your Pokedex and Pokeballs!".

"Thanks!" Happy said.

You should probably keep that Mareep out of its Pokeball for a month or so - it can be quite scary for new-borns to be carried around in those things - and they really need to grow and learn about the world." Joe told Happy, who nodded, secretly unsatisfied that her plan of 'Keep Mareep in the Ball and Catch a New Pokemon Straight Away' hadn't worked out.

"Now," Birch started, "I told you earlier how to use those Pokeballs. The Pokedex is pretty simple, too. When you want data on a certain Pokemon, you can tell it the name of the species, point the machine at towards the species that you want, or browse for information. The Pokedex will hold information about all of the Pokemon that you've captured, including their species, height, size, moves, things like that. Do you understand?" Happy nodded in answer. "Ok, I think that the first thing that you should do is look up your new Mareep in that new Pokedex".

Happy flipped open the cover of the machine to reveal a screen with various buttons surrounding it. She pointed the radar at her new partner, who was now sitting on Birch's desk.,

"Mareep," the Pokedex told her, "female, weight: 16.9lbs, height: 2'00'', current moves: Spark, Tackle".

"Ok," Happy said suddenly, pointing at the creature that had just been reviewed, "I'm going to call you Momoko!"

"Aaaah, so your into nicknames then, Happy? You like that new name of yours?" Birch grinned as he spoke to the young Mareep.

"Eeep!" Momoko answered in delight.

"So, Happy," Birch's grin grew wider, "I guess you had better be going now. The next official Pokemon Contest is in Rustboro City, which is quite a distance from here. I have a map for you, though," he picked up a rolled-up map from his desk, and unravelled it, "we are in Littleroot now, so you will have to head through Oldale Town, Petalburg City, and Petalburg Woods in order to get there - you clear?", and Happy nodded once more - just wanting to get out into the world.

It was late before Happy escaped the clutches of Birch and Joe, who stood at the door to the lab, waving her and Momoko goodbye. She turned, smiled, and held her hand in a wave, before heading off down the road, Momoko walking closely to her side.

"She doesn't like Momoko, does she? Happy, I mean" Joe's face turned sour as he questioned Birch.

"No, she doesn't," Birch said with a calmness that made Joe gasp in disbelief, "but she will - a girl like her needs a bit of a challenge, which is why I gave her that Mareep. She needs to realise that Pokemon Training is easier then how it looks on TV, and her new partner will definitely show her that" Birch finished, a smile spreading across his face, as he finished his wave goodbye, and turned back into the lab, Joe following closely.

And as for Happy, who knows where this journey will bring her? She would just have to wait and see!


	2. Ledyba Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

Chapter 2: Ledyba Day

"Oh, I can't even read this damn thing," Happy cried, having more then a bit of trouble trying to find her way to Oldale Town with just a flimsy, old map that Professor Birch had give her earlier that day, "why didn't that professor guy give me something decent - like a bag of crisps!". Happy sighed, dropping the map into her orange, un-zipped bag.

"Eeep?" Momoko looked up at her new mistress, unsure of whether Happy was talking to her, or to herself. The two of them had only been walking for an hour or so, but it seemed like forever. Momoko watched as her mistress threw herself to the floor, her back resting against an old gate-post, and began rooting through her bag.

"I could have sworn…" Happy mumbled, as Momoko wandered closer to her, curious. "Aaaah, I knew that I'd packed these" Happy continued, pulling half-a-dozen chocolate-chip cookies, sealed tightly with some cling-film, from her bag. She, for the first time since she left the lab, zipped up the bag, securely, before unwrapping the biscuits and taking a huge bite out of the first. Momoko leant in close, sniffing at what Happy was eating, incredibly curious. "Hey, you go eat some grass, or something. These are mine!" Happy told the young Mareep, in between her first and second mouthful. Momoko bowed her head, knowing that she had displeased her trainer in some manner, but unsure how. Following Happy's commands quite literally, Momoko wandered around the gate-post, and began nibbling at some grass that was growing from underneath it. The grass tasted bland and uninteresting - but good enough to satisfy her hunger.

Happy gazed up at the sky. The sky was clear, but the air was cool, and a cold breeze rung through her hair. She wasn't as warm as she might have liked to have been, but, whatever, it was her choice to dress for the warmest of weather, rather then play layers and be prepared. She was thirsty too, but did not start on the water that Julie had given earlier that day. To Happy, everything was a test - a challenge: how long she could walk for without stopping, how much pressure she could put on her hand before she had to give in, and even how long she could go without walking. She lived for competition - for victory. She was the kind of girl who would just never give in, and she knew it, which is how she knew for sure that the life of a coordinator was for her.

A coordinators job is to raise Pokemon that are strong, beautiful, and cute, among other things, before entering them in Pokemon Contests - where the trainer can compete for a ribbon, When five ribbons are won, the Grand Festival can be entered - and if you win that then you really are one top coordinator. That was her dream, to win Grand Festivals in every region, and become Top Coordinator, a great honour.

"C'mon," Happy told Momoko, breaking out of her trance and stepping back into the real world, "I had better get going - I want to catch another Pokemon - no time like the present ". Momoko, who had been lying down some distance away, was quick to react to Happy's words, jumping to her feet and skipping up to her trainer, who had already began to walk further down the path.

After just a few steps, a voice was heard from somewhere nearby. Happy turned towards the sound, and Momoko lifted one of her cone-like ears to listen more closely. It was the sound of a voice - a Pokemon's voice - somewhere further down the path.

"Yes," Happy cheered, "Talk about lucky. Lets go and catch it, Momoko". Momoko ran after Happy, eager to please, overjoyed at the possibility of getting a new friend. Bounding over a hill in the path, and fast-walking around a bend, Happy found herself face to face with a Charmander.

"Char?" the small, red, lizard-like Pokemon cried, shocked by the appearance of the young girl and her electric partner.

"Aaaah, a Charmander!" Happy shrieked, excitedly, "Get it, Mo…" Happy was stopped in her words by the sight of another trainer. He was slightly taller then Happy, with chestnut-brown hair that ran down to just above his shoulders in thick waves. His eyes matched his hair, and were large and out of place within his face. He was wearing denim jeans, and a long black and dark-blue striped t-shirt, and on his feet, he wore old white sneakers that were battered and torn at every angle. He had a thin, black scarf wrapped fashionably around his neck. He looked at Happy anxiously, as if he was waiting for her to say something. "Oh, I'm sorry," Happy apologised, sweetly, "I think I can assume that this is your Charmander. I thought it was a little funny that I saw a wild Charmander around here - they are pretty rare in Hoenn, after all".

"Are you trying to catch a Pokemon?" the boy stuttered to her.

"Erm… yes" Happy told him.

"Well, instead of trying to steal other peoples Pokemon, you could try for a Ledyba - there's a swarm of them at the moment, just east of Oldale Town".

"Oh, erm, thanks for your help - I'll do that then". Happy spun herself around and paced back onto the path, heading towards Oldale Town.

"What was his problem?" Happy murmured, Momoko once again taking an interest in who her trainers speech was directed too. "It was just not very nice - you meet a guy in the middle of nowhere, and he basically just brushes you off. He may have been shy, but that's no excuse for his poor treatment of a girl - what happened to chivalry, huh?" Happy carried on, not letting the matter drop.

"Eeep" Momoko cried happily, as Oldale Town came into view.

"About time too" Happy said, pacing even faster towards the small area. "Right, that boy said that we go east, not that I know which way that is" she sighed - she had hoped that her journey would bring less stress then this, never mind before even reaching the first town, but then she remembered. "Dad's compass!" she cried, pulling from her bag the device that she had discovered their earlier that day. "It might help if I knew how to use this though" she giggled this time, taking the situation lightly - turning a difficult position into a joke was one of Happy's talents. Momoko smiled up to the girl, pleased that she was finally brightening up. "Well, judging from this, I would have to say that East is that way" she pointed to her right-hand side. But then she started to wonder, had the boy meant East from arrival at Oldale Town, or East overall. Blushing at realisation that her right fitted both options, Happy pranced in that direction, Momoko hot on her heels.

Happy found herself surrounded by trees, the smell of pollen, strong in the air. She had been walking for just fifteen minutes, or so she guessed. At that moment, she heard loud cries coming from nearby. With Momoko following close by, Happy wandered from the country path, to reveal, in the clearing, a whole flock of Ledyba, clung to the branches of trees - their voices resounding through the air. They had small, round bodies, that was red across their top-half, with five circular spots dotted around it. Their bottom halves were cream-coloured, with six purple legs attached, and feet that resembled cream boxing gloves attached to those. There heads were round, smaller then their bodies, and coloured in likeness to them. They had eyes that were large, and circular, with black dots for pupils. Finally, they had two black antennae, emerging from their heads.

"I had better check these out in my new Pokedex then" Happy smiled, following the instructions that Birch had given her to use the device.

"Ledyba, the Five Star Pokemon. Ledyba finds its comfort in groups, when it is alone, it will be silent, as opposed to its usually noisy nature" the Pokedex happily sang when pointed at the bugs.

"Ok, Momoko, we're going to catch one of those" Happy squealed in delight, pointing to the group of distracted Pokemon.

"Mareep!" Momoko joined in.

"Now, lets see, which one should I have…" Happy pondered to herself. "Aaah, look at that one". Happy, this time, pointed to a single Ledyba which was sleeping in one of the tree's branches, only slightly separated from the rest of the group. "Get it, Momoko!" Happy commanded, as the young Mareep obediently leapt forwards, and charged towards the said Ledyba.

"Use Spark!" Happy ordered, and Momoko eagerly jumped to be as close to the victim as possible, before opening her mouth, and releasing several flickers of yellow electricity, which hit the Ledyba with enough impact to knock it off the tree, waking it up. The Pokemon flickered its wings, and hovered in the air, clearly angered by the sudden attack. Happy knew that the attack had done no more then aggravate the creature, but wasn't prepare to give in yet, as she ordered a Tackle attack. The Ledyba dodged easily, but Momoko was quick to turn and hit it in the back, knocking it to the floor, and doing some damage.

"Tackle, again" Happy commanded, and Momoko did as she said, pacing towards the foe, who countered quickly with a Comet Punch attack, causing one of the Ledyba's glove-like hands to glow a light shade of blue. The two attacks collided, knocking both Pokemon back, and both taking some damage. Happy was quick to order a Spark from her partner, the Ledyba irritated but not harmed by the electric move. This was Happy's chance. As the bug was distracted by the flying sparks, Happy told Momoko to Tackle at full power, gaining a direct hit by the Ledyba that was caught off guard. Happy had already produced a Pokeball from her bag, and threw it at the target. A red light emerged from the metal ball, sucking the bug Pokemon inside. Happy and Momoko both watched with interest and the ball shook back and forth, the button in the middle beeping, and flashing with a red light. It was then that the Pokeball came to a halt, the Pokemon inside giving up its fight and accepting capture. Happy took hold of the ball proudly, before leaping up and down excitedly - she had captured a Pokemon for the first time!

It was evening by the time that the battle was over, and Happy headed straight back to Oldale Town to grab a room for the night. The Pokemon Centre was a large building where trainers could go the get their Pokemon checked out or healed after a tough battle. As well as this, it was also somewhere where they could go to get a meal and a place to sleep when on the road. Each Pokemon Centre is equipped with a Nurse Joy, all who looked almost exactly alike - wavy pink hair, and a kind face, with large blue eyes. They all wore a white, and pale-pink uniform, whether they were working or not.

Happy politely asked the Oldale Nurse Joy for a room for the night, and she was quick to produce a key, and give her a room number. Walking down the rows of doors, looking for the one that sported her number, she didn't seem to be any better at finding a room in a building them she was at finding her way through the countryside.

"Oh, great, Momoko," Happy sighed, and looked down at the little Mareep "we've just got to find this room - I'm not asking Nurse Joy, that would be just two embarrassing".

"Need some help?" a voice asked. Happy raised her head to see the same boy whose Charmander she had tried to capture before. He smiled this time, but he still looked as timid as before.

"Erm… no thanks, I'll be fine" Happy started to pace past him.

"I'm sorry, about before I mean - I was a little harsh" Happy turned back to look at the boy. "My name's Corey," he continued, "and you are?".

"Happy" the girl told him in reply.

"Right, Happy," Corey replied, "tell me your room number, and I'll point you in the right direction".

Corey told her where her room would be located in the large building - it had turned out that she had been in the wrong floor. Upon finally finding her home for the night, Happy locked the door, and went straight to sleep, pleased that she had made her first friend on the road - the first of many, she hoped.


	3. Happy, Corey, and the Injured Tailow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

Chapter 3: Happy, Corey, and the Injured Tailow

Happy sat up in bed, squinting to adapt to the morning sunlight, and stretching her arms out wide. Momoko was still fast asleep on the peach-coloured carpet. Happy looked around her, savouring her first morning as a Pokemon Trainer. Pulling the duvet aside, and forcing herself to her feet, she went straight into her orange bag, and snatched hold of a Pokeball.

"Hold the show, Erena!" Happy cried, excitedly, throwing the Pokeball high into the air. The device was quick to open and reveal a Ledyba which bore a confused but accepting expression. "You like it, Erena? That's your new name" Happy told the bug, who immediately understood, spinning around to show her delight. "And 'Hold the Show' - that's my contest cry. You know what a Pokemon Contest is?" Erena shook her head, and so Happy began to explain, while the Ledyba listened intently.

"Anyway, Erena, I forgot to introduce myself," Happy smiled sweetly, "I'm Happy, and together we're going to be top Contest winners!" Happy held out her hand, and Erena shook it, delighted.

XXX

Happy decided that today would be the day when she would start her serious training, and, by mid-day, had already begun. She had found a quiet country area with few people about, and had set out several large rocks (which she had pinched from a crumbling wall nearby) in a line.

"Right, Erena, do your thing!" Happy cried, as the Ledyba darted forwards, smashing each rock with her Comet Punch attack.

"Hey, Happy," a male voice shouted over to her, and she spun around to see who was calling, "I see you've discovered my secret training ground, and, erm, got the Pokemon that I told you to".

"Corey," Happy answered in realisation, "and who says this is _your_ training ground?"

"Ha, I'm just messing with you. Hey, how would you like to have a battle with me?"

"Your certainly confident today, considering how shy you seemed just last night"

"I'm always shy when I meet new people, especially since I thought you were seriously trying to steal my Charmander, but we're friends now, right? And this is Pokemon we're talking about. So lets have a battle". It was true, Corey did seem more relaxed today, but Happy still recognised his naturally timid appearance.

"Well I've never met anyone who can stutter like anything one minute, and then be full of confidence the next, but, alright, I accept your challenge!"

"Good, well lets get started then" Corey bounced further from Happy so as to create enough space to battle in. "I'll pick first" he told her, tossing up a Pokeball which revealed the very Charmander that Happy had wanted to capture the day before.

"Alright then, Erena, you're up" Happy told the bug, who flickered into the scene, pleased to be in her very first battle. Momoko lay and watched from the sidelines.

"Aaah, I expected you to go with your Mareep - you know that with your new Ledyba you're at a great disadvantage?" Corey asked.

"Yeah, but I need to train Erena for the Petalburg Pokemon Contest" Happy was confident in her choice.

"Suit yourself. Right, Charmander, use Flamethrower!" the small red creature suddenly produced a huge blast of fire from his mouth, heading straight for Erena with the determination of an erupting volcano.

"Erena, get out of the way" Happy cried, as the Ledyba tried to fly aside the attack, but was partially unsuccessful, as the flames caught hold of one of her wings.

"You alright?" Happy called up to her injured Pokemon.

"Ledyba, ba" Erena hummed in a positive reply.

"Hey, Corey," Happy shouted over to the boy, "that was one heck of a Flamethrower, but we're not finished yet!" and Corey smiled at the girl's confidence.

"Okay, Erena, Supersonic!" the bug flicked her wings faster, hovering directly above Charmander, and, from its eyes, produced circular waves of radiation, which fell around Charmander, causing him to slowly lose touch with reality.

"Enough of that," Corey cried, "Charmander, snap out of it and use Scratch". At this, the small, red creature began to violently scratch itself, too confused to realise what it was doing.

"Stop that, Charmander! Try a Flamethrower" Corey ordered, and this time the attack was fast, hitting Erena directly, even before she or Happy had realise that it was coming. Erena was down.

"Erena are you okay?" Happy ran to her new Pokemon, and knelt beside it. Erena looked up at her trainer, smiled, and forced herself to stand on her six legs, bravely.

"Is your Ledyba alright?" Corey stood over Happy, as she returned the bug to her Pokeball, as Corey did the same with Charmander.

"Yeah, she just needs a little rest, and Charmander?" Happy stood up to face her new friend.

"He's fine too," Corey smiled, "and, hey, that was a great battle" Corey held his hand out, and Happy shook it, repaying his compliments.

At that moment a Zigzagoon broke into the clearing, carrying something in its beak that was screeching in agony.

"Hey, what's that Zigzagoon holding?" Happy wondered aloud.

"Only one way to find out," Corey told her, pulling from his belt a Pokeball and tossing it into the air, "Smoochum, lets go - Sweet Kiss now". The small, innocent-looking, Pokemon kissed the air, releasing heart-shaped bubbles around her, which floated towards the running Zigzagoon, confusing and stopping it dead in its tracks.

Corey ran towards the Zigzagoon, Happy close behind, and rolled the Pokemon on its back, squeezing its neck and forcing it to let go of whatever it held between its teeth.

"Tailow, tailow!" the small creature spluttered and coughed.

"Ah, a Tailow," Happy said, excitedly, "but he looks pretty hurt".

"Yeah, I will take it to the Pokemon Centre" Corey picked up the creature in his arms, and walked back towards Oldale.

"I'll come with you" Happy told him, jogging to catch up to him.

XXX

Nurse Joy had been quick to rush the injured Tailow into the Operating Theatre, and do her best to heal it. Corey and Happy sat outside in the waiting room, chatting about their aims, their hopes, their dreams.

"Me?" Corey said, answering Happy's question of what he hoped for the future. "Well, what I'd really like to do is open a school for beginning trainers, but my family will have none of it, so I started collecting gym badges so that I can enter the Hoenn League - I've already been part of the Sinnoh and Kanto Leagues, so Hoenn seemed the place to go next. You know, Happy, it must have really irritated you that you couldn't leave five years ago with your friends, huh?"

"Oh, well, yeah, I was pretty distraught. I was alone for a while, since my friends all left together, and I was mad with my mum and dad for making me wait. But now, well, I've made a load of new friends who aren't even that fond of having anything to do with Pokemon. They were all pretty sad when I told them goodbye, but they said I wasn't getting away from them that easily - they would make sure we stayed in touch no matter what" Happy cheerfully told Corey, who listened with interest.

"Corey and Happy?" Nurse Joy appeared suddenly before the two trainers, who nodded upon hearing their names. "Your Tailow is fighting fit and ready to leave".

"Thank you, Nurse Joy" Happy and Corey sang together, as they rose from their seats to fetch the creature that they had previously saved the life of.

XXX

The sun was beginning to close on Oldale Town, as Corey and Happy stood at the boarder, their recovered Tailow, now making loud, sharp cries of its name, and flapping its wings sharply above the two, anxious to get going.

"Tailow should go with you, Corey, I'm sure it will make a great part of your team," Happy said as the two trainers were about to part ways, "besides, it's thanks to you that I was able to go and catch Erena".

"Thanks," Corey smiled, "I'll see you again… one day".

"No doubt" Happy grinned back, turning to go on her own path, determined to get to Petelburg safely.

Well… that's easier said then done.


End file.
